Star Spangled Rhythm (1942)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

George Marshall

Writers:

Melvin Frank (sketches)
George S. Kaufman (sketches)

Release Date:

2 December 1942 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Musical

Plot:

Pop, a security guard at Paramount has told his son that he's the head of the studio. When his son arrives...

Plot Keywords:

Beautiful Woman | Variety

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars.

Cast

Bing Crosby	...	Himself - Old Glory Number
Bob Hope	...	Himself - Master of Ceremonies
Fred MacMurray	...	Himself as Frank in Card Playing Skit
Franchot Tone	...	Himself as John in Card Playing Skit
Ray Milland	...	Himself as Joe in Card Playing Skit
Victor Moore	...	William 'Bronco Billy' Webster
Dorothy Lamour	...	Herself - Sweater, Sarong & Peekaboo Bang Number
Paulette Goddard	...	Herself - Sweater, Sarong & Peekaboo Bang Number
Vera Zorina	...	Herself - That Old Black Magic Number
Mary Martin	...	Herself - Hit the Road to Dreamland Number
Dick Powell	...	Himself - Hit the Road to Dreamland Number
Betty Hutton	...	Polly Judson
Eddie Bracken	...	Johnny Webster
Veronica Lake	...	Herself - Sweater, Sarong & Peekaboo Bang Number
Alan Ladd	...	Himself - Scarface Skit

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

Finland:S | Sweden:15 | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Naval Training Center, San Diego, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

One of over 700 Paramount Productions, filmed between 1929 and 1949, which were sold to MCA/Universal in 1958 for television distribution, and have been owned and controlled by Universal ever since.

Goofs:

Continuity: During the jeep ride, one of the sailors is thrown out when the vehicle hits a bump and jumps onto a dirt road. The sailor is then shown back in the jeep in the next shot.

Quotes:

[In front of Old Glory and a plaster Mt. Rushmore]
Bing Crosby: [singing] Germans, Italians, and Japs / Can't kick us off our Rand-McNally maps.

Movie Connections:

References My Favorite Blonde (1942)

Soundtrack:

That Old Black Magic

What Twisted Webs We Weave When We Try To Deceive

Eddie Bracken is in the Navy. His dad (Victor Moore--aka Bronco Billy) is a guard at Paramount but has told him he is head of the studio. His girl (Betty Hutton who he has never met) does her part to keep the deception going. When Eddie gets shore leave with his buddies they naturally want to go to the studio and then the fun begins as the attempts at keeping the deception going get more involved and intricate up to the point where dad agrees to hold a show for the whole ship.

No question that this movie was to be patriotic and to showcase Paramount stars. This is a good vehicle for it. You get a chance to glimpse studio life in its' various forms and to see many stars of the time perform brief numbers. Yet the stars don't overwhelm the story.

Some very funny scenes such as when Betty wants to get into the studio by climbing over a wall and during the show for the ship's men there is an absolutely hilarious sketch with men showing how women act when they get together for an evening of playing cards. There is also a great sketch where Bob Hope is trying to hide from William Bendix and he has to do it while Bendix is taking a shower with Bob in the shower with him! A nice light-hearted movie with good entertainment.